Gate bracket systems and methods

ABSTRACT

A bracket system for forming gate assemblies comprising at least two brace members that are rigidly attached to hinge assemblies. The brace members are adapted to be attached to support members to form two corners of a gate box functioning as the structural portion of the gate assembly. The hinge assemblies are adapted to be rigidly attached to a fence post to allow the gate assembly to pivot relative to the fence post. Gate assemblies of arbitrary height and width can be formed using the bracket system.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/410,736filed on Apr. 25, 2006 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,249,755, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/087,483 filed onMar. 22, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,032,892, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/456,247 filed on Jun. 5, 2003, nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,896,244, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/976,380 filed on Oct. 11, 2001, now abandoned,which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Design patent application Ser.No. 29/067,042 filed on Feb. 27, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. D,520,349, whichclaims priority of Canadian Industrial Design Application No. 1996-2618filed on Nov. 26, 1996.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to hardware for use in the construction ofgates and, more specifically, to gate hardware adapted to brace thevertical and horizontal support members of a wooden gate and rotatablyconnect these members to a fixed structural member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Gates are often used to allow selective access through a wall or fence.Conventionally, gates are constructed as follows. Two vertical supportmembers and two horizontal support members are fastened together in arectangular shape to form what will be referred to herein as a gate box.Fence boards or the like are fastened to the support members, and one ofthe vertical support members is rotatably attached by two or more hingeassemblies to a structural member such as a wall or post.

Using conventional gate building techniques, fasteners such as nails orscrews are driven through one support member into another support memberto form the corners of the gate box. Over time, the force of gravity andwood shrinkage will cause these fasteners to loosen, allowing the gatebox to sag out of its desired rectangular shape.

Accordingly, metal L-brackets, wooden brace members, triangular piecesof plywood, and the like are often fastened to the adjacent ends of thesupport members to strengthen the inside corners of the gate box. Inother situations, a wire is placed in tension between the upper proximaland lower distal corners of the gate box to support the lower distalcorner of the gate box and thereby reduce sagging of the gate. Suchbracing techniques are somewhat effective but also commonly employfasteners that are susceptible to failure and can be relatively timeconsuming to implement.

Another problem with conventional gate building techniques is thatfasteners such as nails or screws are similarly used to attach the hingeassemblies to the vertical support member adjacent to the structuralmember. The loads are transferred to the gate through the screws placedin tension. As the wood shrinks and the gate is opened and closed, thefasteners under tension tend to loosen and may eventually fail.

As the hinge fasteners loosen, the entire gate assembly may sag relativeto the hinge assemblies and thus the structural member, even if the gatebox maintains its rectangular shape. The use of braces at the corners ofthe gate box will worsen sagging at the hinges because the materials andhardware used for bracing increase the weight of the gate; thisincreased weight increases the forces of gravity on the fasteners usedto attach the hinge assemblies to the proximal vertical support member.

The Applicant is aware of a product sold in Canada as early asapproximately 1993 under the tradename “Artistic Steel Gate Frames”. TheArtistic Steel Gate Frame product comprises distal and proximal bracemembers, with hinges being attached to the proximal brace member. A gateassembly constructed using the Artistic product would use upper andlower horizontal wooden support members, but would not use verticalsupport members. Instead, the distal and proximal brace members wouldform the structure of the vertical sides of the gate. Accordingly, thebrace members of the Artistic product were sold in a plurality of sizes,with each size corresponding to a given distance between the upper andlower horizontal support members.

One problem with the Artistic product is that this system requires themanufacturer to produce and keep in inventory, and the retailer tostock, multiple sizes of brace members.

In addition, the end user is limited to one of these multiple sizes ofbrace members; one could not create a gate assembly having a customdistance between the upper and lower horizontal support members.

From the foregoing, it should be clear that one object of the presentinvention is to create bracket systems and methods that are strong, thatare easy and inexpensive to use, and which allow significant flexibilityin the final design of the gate assembly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a bracket system or method for forming gateassemblies. The bracket system comprises at least two brace members thatare rigidly attached to hinge assemblies. The brace members are adaptedto be attached to support members to form two corners of a gate boxfunctioning as the structural portion of the gate assembly. The hingeassemblies are adapted to be rigidly attached to a fence post to allowthe gate assembly to pivot relative to the fence post. Gate assembliesof arbitrary height and width can be formed using the bracket system ofthe present invention

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a gate frame system of the presentinvention comprising distal brace members and proximal brace assemblies;

FIG. 2 is an exploded, front elevation view of a gate assemblyincorporating the gate frame system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial cut-away, front elevation view of the gate assemblyof FIG. 2 attached to a fence post;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the distal brace member depicted inFIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of the distal brace member depicted inFIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the distal brace member depicted in FIG.1;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the distal brace member depicted in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a front elevation view of the proximal brace member depictedin FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a side elevation view of the proximal brace member depicted inFIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a bottom plan view of the proximal brace member depicted inFIG. 1; and

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the proximal brace member depicted in FIG.1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring initially to FIG. 1, depicted therein is a gate bracket system20 constructed in accordance with, and embodying, the principles of thepresent invention. Referring for a moment to FIGS. 2 and 3, the gatebracket system 20 is adapted to form a gate box 22 to be used as part ofa gate assembly 24; the gate assembly 24 is in turn to be connected to astructural member such as a fence post 26 (FIG. 3) of a larger structuresuch as a fence 28.

The exemplary gate assembly 24 comprises in addition to the bracketsystem 20 distal and proximal vertical support members 30 and 32, upperand lower horizontal support members 34 and 36, and a plurality of fencemembers 40. The exemplary support members 30-36 are conventional woodentwo-by-fours, but other materials and sizes may be used as the supportmembers 30-36. The exemplary fence members 40 are also conventionallymade out of wood, but other materials and various sizes of any type ofmaterial may be used to form the fence members 40.

The support members 30-36 and fence members 40 do not form a part of thepresent invention. A description of the construction and operation ofthese members 30-40 is not necessary to describe how to make and use thepresent invention and is included herein simply to illustrate theenvironment in which the present invention operates.

The fence post 26 is conventionally a wooden four-by-four, but othermaterials and sizes may be used to form the structural member to whichthe gate assembly 24 is rotatably attached. For example, rather than afence post 26, the structural member may be a wall of a structure. Thefence post 26 and fence 28 also are or may be conventional and are notpart of the present invention. As with the support and fence members30-40 introduced above, a description of the construction and operationof the post 26 and fence 28 is not necessary to describe how to make anduse the present invention. The fence post 26 and fence 28 are describedherein simply to illustrate the environment in which the presentinvention operates.

The gate bracket system 20 of the present invention comprises first andsecond distal brace members 50 and 52 and first and second braceassemblies 54 and 56. The first brace assembly 54 in turn comprises afirst proximal brace member 60 and a first hinge assembly 62, while thesecond brace assembly comprises a second proximal brace member 64 and asecond hinge assembly 66.

The exemplary brace members 50, 52, 60, and 64 each comprise ahorizontal portion 70, a vertical portion 72, and a brace portion 74. Anouter end 72 a of the vertical portions 72 is rigidly connected to anattachment region 70 a of the horizontal portions 70. The exemplarybrace portion 74 is preferably rigidly connected at an angle betweenbracing regions 70 b and 72 b of the horizontal and vertical portions 70and 72, respectively.

The choice of materials and shapes of the materials are not essential toany particular implementation of the present invention. The primaryrequirements of the brace members 50, 52, 60, and 64 are that thesemembers each define a horizontal support surface 80 and a verticalsupport surface 82 such that these surfaces rigidly extend from eachother at a right angle. In the exemplary system 20, the horizontalsupport surfaces 80 are formed on the horizontal portions 70 and thevertical support surfaces 82 are formed on the vertical portions 72.

A plurality of fastener holes 90 are formed in the brace members 50, 52,60, and 64; the fastener holes 90 are adapted to allow fasteners 92 toattach, in a conventional manner, the brace members 50, 52, 60, and 64to the support members 30-36. The fasteners 92 are preferablyself-tapping screws but can be nails, bolts, or the like. The fasteners92 are not part of the gate bracket system 20 of the present inventionper se but, as will be described in further detail below, are used tocombine the bracket system 20 with the support members 30-36 to form thegate assembly 24.

The exact number and location of the fastener holes 90 is not criticalto any given implementation of the present invention. In a broadest formof the bracket system 20, the fastener holes 90 can be formed anywherealong the horizontal portions 70 and vertical portions 72. The onlyrequirement for the number and spacing of these holes is that thefasteners 92 extend through these holes 90 and into the support membersto rigidly secure the brace members to the support members.

Given the foregoing general understanding of the present invention, thedistal bracket members 50 and 52 and the proximal bracket assemblies 54and 56 of the present invention will now be described in further detailwith reference to FIGS. 4-11.

The attachment and bracing regions 70 a and 70 b of the horizontalportions 70 of the exemplary bracket members 50, 52, 60, and 64 areformed located generally as follows.

The horizontal portions 70 have an outer end 70 c and an inner end 70d.The exemplary attachment regions 70 a are located betweenapproximately 15-30%, and preferably approximately 20%, of the distancebetween the horizontal portion ends 70 c and 70 d as measured from theouter ends 70 c. The bracing regions 70 b are located betweenapproximately 80-95%, and preferably approximately 88%, of the distancebetween the horizontal portion ends 70 c and 70 d as measured from theouter ends 70 c.

The horizontal portions 70 further define spacing regions 70 e (betweenthe attachment regions 70 a and the outer ends 70 c), inner regions 70 f(between the bracing regions 70 b and the inner ends 70 d), andintermediate regions 70 g (between the attachment regions 70 a and thebracing regions 70 b).

The length of the spacing regions 70 e is determined such that thevertical support members 34 and 36 fit snugly between the verticalportions 72 and the outer ends 70 c. In the case of the proximal bracketassemblies 54 and 56, the length of the spacing regions 70 e allows thevertical support members 34 and 36 to fit snugly between the verticalportions 72 of the third and fourth bracket members 60 and 64 and thefirst and second hinge assemblies 62 and 66, respectively. When, as istypical, two-by-four dimensional lumber is used to form the verticalsupport members, the length of the spacing regions 70 e will beapproximately 3 1/2″, or slightly greater to allow for variations in thetrue dimensions of the lumber.

The vertical portions 72 each comprise the outer ends 72 a discussedabove and an inner end 72 c. The bracing regions 72 b are locatedapproximately 85% of the distance between the horizontal portion ends 72a and 72 c as measured from the outer ends 72 a. The vertical portions72 thus each define a main region 72 d between the outer end 72 a andthe bracing region 72 b and an inner end region 72 e between the bracingregion 72 b and the inner end 72 c.

In the horizontal portions 70 of the exemplary brace members 50, 52, 60,and 64, first, second, and third fastener holes 90 a, 90 b, and 90 c areformed in the spacing regions 70 e, inner regions 70 f, and intermediateregions 70 g, respectively. The first, second, and third fastener holesare spaced approximately 15%, 46%, and 96%, respectively, of thedistance between the horizontal portion ends 70 c and 70 d as measuredfrom the outer ends 70 c.

In the vertical portions 72 of the exemplary brace members 50, 52, 60,and 64, fourth and fifth fastener holes 90 d and 90 e are formed in themain region 72 d and a sixth fastener hole 90 f is formed in the innerend region 72 e. The fourth, fifth, and sixth fastener holes 90 d, 90 e,and 90 f are spaced approximately 15%, 46%, and 96% of the distancebetween the horizontal portion ends 72 a and 72 c as measured from theouter ends 72 a.

The fastener holes 90 of the exemplary brace members 50, 52, 60, and 64are formed along a horizontal center line A of the horizontal portion 70and a vertical center line B of the vertical portion 72.

The exemplary horizontal and vertical portions 70 and 72 are made offlat pieces of rigid metal, but other relatively rigid materials andshapes that function in a similar manner may be used. For ease ofmanufacturing, the exemplary horizontal and vertical portions 70 and 72are identical in length, and the fastener holes 90 are formed atidentical locations therein; only one part thus needs to be fabricatedand stocked to form the exemplary brace members 50, 52, 60, and 64.

The brace portion 74 is typically round or flat metal stock, but othershapes and materials may be used. For example, the brace portion 74 maybe a triangular web of flat material that extends between the horizontaland vertical portions 70 and 72. In this case, the entire brace membermay be cast of metal or injection molded from plastic. If a triangularweb or similar brace portion is used, it may be necessary to form thefastener holes 90 such that they are offset from the horizontal andvertical centerlines A and B.

From the foregoing, it should be clear that the exemplary brace members50, 52, 60, and 64 are identical, which is preferred for manufacturingpurposes. However, these brace members 50, 52, 60, and 64 need not beidentical to practice the present invention in its broadest form.

The first and second hinge assemblies 54 and 56 are or may beconventional and will be described herein only to the extent necessaryfor a complete understanding of the present invention.

As is conventional, the hinge assemblies 54 and 56 each comprise a gateplate 120 and a post plate 122. These plates define hinge projections124 that receive a hinge pin (not shown). The hinge pin allows the gateand post plates 120 and 122 to rotate relative to each other about ahinge axes C and D defined by the hinge assemblies 54 and 56.

The outer ends 70 c of the horizontal portions 70 of the first andsecond brace members 60 and 64 are rigidly connected to the gate plates120. In particular, the horizontal center lines A of the horizontalportions 70 of these brace members 60 and 64 are tangential to circlescentered about the hinge axes C and D, respectively. The vertical centerlines B of the vertical portions of the brace members 60 and 64 areparallel to the hinge axes C and D, respectively.

An array of fastener holes 90 is formed in the post plate 122 to allowthis plate to be rigidly attached to the fence post 26. Preferably fourfastener holes 90 are formed in the post plate 122. The drawing depictsfastener holes 90 in the gate plate 120; these holes 90 in the plate 120need not be used, but will be present if off-the-shelf hinge assemblies62 and 66 are used.

The process of combining the bracket system 20 with the support members30-36 to form the gate box 22 will now be described with reference toFIG. 2.

Initially, as is conventional, the support members 30-36 are cut to thedesired lengths. The length vertical support members 30 and 32 generallycorrespond to the height of the gate assembly 24, while the length ofthe horizontal support members 34 and 36 closely correspond to the widthof the gate assembly 24. The minimum lengths of the support members30-36 are determined by the horizontal portions 70 and vertical portions72 of the brace members 50, 52, 60, and 64; in particular, the supportmembers 30-36 must be at least twice as long as the lengths of thehorizontal and vertical portions 70 and 72 to prevent overlapping of thehorizontal portions 70 or vertical portions 72 of adjacent bracemembers.

The first and second distal brace members 50 and 52 and first and secondbrace assemblies 54 and 56 are arranged such that: (a) horizontal andvertical support surfaces 80 a and 82 a of the first distal brace member50 define first and second support surfaces of the bracket system 20;(b) horizontal and vertical support surfaces 80 b and 82 b of the seconddistal brace member 50 define third and fourth support surfaces of thebracket system 20; (c) horizontal and vertical support surfaces 80 c and82 c of the first proximal brace member 60 define third and fourthsupport surfaces of the bracket system 20; and (d) horizontal andvertical support surfaces 80 d and 82 d of the second proximal bracemember 54 define third and fourth support surfaces of the bracket system20.

The fasteners 92 are then inserted through the fastener holes 90 of thebrace members 50, 52, 60, and 64 and into the support members 30-36 toform the gate box 22. In particular, fasteners 92 are driven through theholes 90 and into the support members 30-36 such that: (a) the upperhorizontal support member 30 is drawn tight against the first and fifthsupport surfaces defined by the first distal brace member 50 and secondproximal brace member 60; (b) the lower horizontal support member 32 isdrawn tight against the second and sixth support surfaces defined by thesecond distal brace member 52 and fourth proximal brace member 64; (c)the distal vertical support member 34 is drawn tight against the thirdand fourth support surfaces defined by the first and second distal bracemembers 50 and 52; and (d) the proximal vertical support member 36 isdrawn tight against the seventh and eight support surfaces defined bythe first and second proximal brace members 60 and 64.

The exact order of the attachments described in the preceding paragraphis not critical to the present invention in its broadest form. However,with the brace members 50, 52, 60, and 64 described herein, fasteners 92are preferably driven through at least the first fastener holes 90 aformed in the spacing regions 70 e of the horizontal portions 70 beforefasteners 92 are driven through the fastener fourth, fifth, or sixthfastener holes 90 d-e of the vertical portions 72. Otherwise, thevertical support members 34 and 36 may block access to the firstfastener holes 90 a. Preferably, fasteners 92 are driven through thefirst through third fastener holes 90 a-c before fasteners are driventhrough the fifth through sixth fastener holes 90 d-e.

With the gate box 22 formed as described above, the hinge axes C and Dwill be substantially aligned. The gate box 22 so formed may thus thenbe attached to the fence post 26 by fasteners 92 extending through thefastener holes 90 in the post plate 122 and into the post 26. When thepost plates 122 are rigidly connected to the post 26, the gate box 22pivots relative to the fence post 26 about the hinge axes C and D.

The gate assembly 24 may be formed before or after the gate box 22 isattached to the fence post 26 by attaching the fence members 40 to atleast one, and preferably at least two, of the support members 30-36 ofthe gate box 22.

Given the foregoing, it should be clear that the present invention maybe embodied in forms other than those depicted and described herein. Thescope of the present invention should thus be determined by the claimsappended hereto and not the preceding detailed description of thepreferred embodiment.

1. A bracket system for rotatably connecting a gate assembly comprisinga plurality of support members to a structural member, the bracketsystem comprising: first and second brace assemblies, where each braceassembly comprises: a brace member defining a first support surface, asecond support surface, and a spacing portion, and a hinge assemblyrigidly connected to the brace member, wherein: the brace member isconfigured to maintain a fixed angular relationship between the firstand second support surfaces, the first support surface engages a surfaceof one of the support members, the second support surface engages asurface of another one of the support members, and the hinge assembly isadapted to be connected to the structural member; whereby: the first andsecond brace assemblies are movable relative to each other when thefirst and second brace assemblies are not connected to the supportmembers; and when the first and second brace assemblies are connected tothe support members: a spatial relationship of the first brace assemblyand the second brace assembly is fixed; the spacing portions of thebrace members space the hinge assemblies a spacing distance from thesecond support surfaces; and the spacing distance is configured toaccommodate one of the support members, wherein the one support membersnugly fits between the hinge assemblies and a portion of the bracemembers defining the second support surfaces.
 2. A bracket system asrecited in claim 1, in which the hinge assemblies each define a hingeaxis, where the hinge axes are aligned when the hinge assemblies of thefirst and second brace assemblies are connected to the structuralmember.
 3. A bracket system as recited in claim 1, in which the hingeassemblies are rigidly connected to the spacing portions of the bracemembers.
 4. A bracket system as recited in claim 1, in which fasteningholes are formed in the brace members to facilitate connection of thebrace members to the support members.
 5. A bracket system as recited inclaim 1, further comprising: first and second distal brace members,where each distal brace member defines a first support surface and asecond support surface, wherein: the distal brace member is configuredto maintain a fixed relationship between the first and second supportsurfaces thereof, the first support surface of the distal brace memberengages a surface of one of the support members, and the second supportsurface of the distal brace member engages a surface of one of thesupport members; whereby: the first and second distal brace members aremovable relative to each other and to the first and second braceassemblies when not connected to the support members; and when the firstand second brace assemblies and the first and second distal bracemembers are connected to the support members, a spatial relationship ofthe first and second brace assemblies and the first and second distalbrace members is fixed.
 6. A method of connecting a gate assembly to astructural member, the method comprising the steps of: providing firstand second brace assemblies each comprising: a brace member, where eachbrace member defines a first support surface, a second support surface,and a spacing portion, where the first and second brace assemblies areconfigured to maintain a fixed angular relationship between the firstand second support surfaces, and a hinge assembly adapted to beconnected to the structural member, where the hinge assembly is rigidlyconnected to the brace member such that the spacing portions of thebrace members space the hinge assemblies a spacing distance from thesecond support surface; determining horizontal and vertical dimensionsof the gate assembly; forming upper and lower horizontal support membersand distal and proximal vertical support members based on dimensions ofthe gate assembly where the spacing distance is configured toaccommodate the proximal vertical support member, wherein the proximalvertical support member snugly fits between the hinge assemblies andportions of the brace members defining the second support surface;rigidly connecting: the brace members of the brace assemblies to theupper horizontal support member, the lower horizontal support member,and the proximal vertical support member, the hinge assemblies of thebrace assemblies to the structural member, and the distal verticalsupport member to the upper and lower horizontal support members suchthat inner surfaces of the upper and lower horizontal support membersopposes each other, and inner surfaces of the proximal and distalvertical support members oppose each other; whereby the length of theproximal vertical support member determines a spatial relationshipbetween the first and second brace assemblies.
 7. A method as recited inclaim 6, in which the hinge assemblies each define a hinge axis, furthercomprising the step of aligning the hinge axes when the hinge assembliesof the first and second brace assemblies are connected to the structuralmember.
 8. A method as recited in claim 6, further comprising the stepof rigidly connecting the hinge assemblies to the spacing portions ofthe brace members.
 9. A method as recited in claim 6, further comprisingthe step of forming a plurality of fastening holes in the brace membersto facilitate connection of the brace members to the support members.10. A method as recited in claim 7, further comprising the steps of:providing first and second distal brace members, where: each distalbrace member defines a first support surface and a second supportsurface, the distal brace member is configured to maintain a fixedrelationship between the first and second support surfaces thereof, thefirst support surface of the distal brace member engages a surface ofone of the support members, and the second support surface of the distalbrace member engages a surface of one of the support members, and thefirst and second distal brace members are movable relative to each otherand to the first and second brace assemblies when not connected to thesupport members; and connecting the first and second brace assembliesand the first and second distal brace members to the support memberssuch that a spatial relationship of the first and second braceassemblies and the first and second distal brace members is fixed.
 11. Abracket system for rotatably connecting a gate assembly comprising aplurality of support members to a structural member, the bracket systemcomprising: first and second brace assemblies, where each brace assemblycomprises: a proximal brace member defining a first support surface, asecond support surface, and a spacing portion, and a hinge assemblyrigidly connected to the proximal brace member, wherein: the proximalbrace member is configured to maintain a fixed angular relationshipbetween the first and second support surfaces thereof, the first supportsurface of the proximal brace member engages a surface of one of thesupport members, the second support surface of the proximal brace memberengages a surface of another one of the support members, and the hingeassembly is adapted to be connected to the structural member; and firstand second distal brace members, where each distal brace member definesa first support surface and a second support surface, wherein: thedistal brace member is configured to maintain a fixed angularrelationship between the first and second support surfaces thereof, thefirst support surface of the distal brace member engages a surface ofone of the support members, and the second support surface of the distalbrace member engages a surface of another one of the support members;whereby: the first and second brace assemblies and first and seconddistal brace members are movable relative to each other when notconnected to the support members; and when the first and second braceassemblies and the first and second distal brace members are connectedto the support members a spatial relationship of the first and secondbrace assemblies and the first and second distal brace members is fixed;the spacing portions of the proximal brace members space the hingeassemblies a spacing distance from the second support surfaces of theproximal brace members; and the spacing distance is configured toaccommodate one of the support members, wherein the one support membersnugly fits between the hinge assemblies and a portion of the proximalbrace members defining the second support surfaces.
 12. A bracket systemas recited in claim 11, in which the hinge assemblies each define ahinge axis, where the hinge axes are aligned when the hinge assembliesof the first and second brace assemblies are connected to the structuralmember.
 13. A bracket system as recited in claim 11, in which the hingeassemblies are rigidly connected to the spacing portions of the proximalbrace members.
 14. A bracket system as recited in claim 11, in whichfastening holes are formed in the proximal brace members to facilitateconnection of the proximal brace members to the support members.